Customer Service Automation: Balancing Tech and Personalization

Customers today expect instant answers, real-time updates and 24/7 availability—even from the smallest businesses. If you think your company can cut corners when it comes to customer service, consider this: A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers survey found that over half of customers say they will walk away from a brand after just a single bad experience.

The good news is that smart technology can help keep your customers happy. You can use automation to ensure clear communication and real-time responsiveness. AI tools can also help escalate issues to real people with the training and emotional intelligence to build customer loyalty.

AI-powered tools — from chatbots to email reminders — can help automate repetitive customer tasks without sacrificing human connection. Here are some best practices for getting started.

1. Use AI-Powered Chatbots for FAQs and Communications

Chatbots, which can be powered by rules-based scripts or AI, are ideal for customer service tasks. They can make it easy for customers to schedule appointments, confirm hours of operation, track orders and get answers to frequently asked questions.

Automation reduces business costs while facilitating on-demand customer access to your business. It can reduce wait times and expedite intervention by a real person when needed. Web developers and agencies, for example, often use chatbots to streamline client onboarding.

Key considerations when choosing a chatbot service include your budget, the complexity of your needs, integration with other business tools and scalability to meet future needs. One solution that offers an AI-driven suite of tools is Zendesk. Pricing starts at $19 per agent, per month.

2. Create Automated Email and SMS Workflows

Email and text messaging are among the easiest ways to automate customer touchpoints. You can use email and SMS automation for all kinds of customer communications. Health care professionals, for instance, frequently use automation for appointment reminders.

Automated emails and texts can boost customer service by providing around-the-clock support, reducing agent workloads for routine issues and enabling personalized responses. Email and SMS communication can also help streamline onboarding, reduce appointment no-shows, gather valuable customer data and enhance retention by proactively engaging with your customers.

Intuit’s Mailchimp is one email and marketing automation platform that can help you communicate with customers. The company’s data-driven solutions include email, SMS and social media marketing tools. You can try Mailchimp for free. After that, choose from a free tier or paid plans starting at $13 a month.

3. Use AI-Powered Reputation Management

Your reputation matters when it comes to customer acquisition and retention. AI-powered reputation management solutions can help you increase sales, build customer loyalty and differentiate your business from competitors. Restaurants use this technology to increase traffic and spot problems before they become bad reviews.

AI also empowers you to monitor and listen across social media 24/7. This data can help you engage with customers on the issues they care about. You also can use those insights to develop content and strategies that proactively address customer pain points.

Tools like Birdeye offer real-time monitoring across channels, sentiment analysis and automated response options. Its AI agents provide reputation management tools. Brideye can also help optimize your local search presence with dynamic listing management to improve your online visibility and increase customer traffic. Contact Birdeye for official pricing. Third-party sites report that plans start at $299 per month.

4. Understand When Automation Goes Too Far

Technology is great—until it’s not. It is possible to over-automate. Anyone who has ever been stuck in an auto-attendant answering system knows just how agonizing those impersonal or robotic interactions can be. Make sure automation does not cost you customers.

Remember To Keep Humans in the Loop

Automate the appropriate repetitive tasks, but be sure to humanize your process with empathy and easy access to real people. To get started, try automating one repetitive customer service task, such as appointment reminders, order status updates or FAQ responses. Measure results, tweak the tone and ensure that human fallback is always available. Automation backed by human empathy can enable even the smallest businesses to deliver big-brand service that customers love.